Verizon Fios is a reliable fiber provider, but availability is limited.
9 min readMost people know Verizon for its phone plans and celebrity Superbowl commercials, but many East Coast internet users would say that Verizon’s Fios fiber-optic internet service deserves the bulk of the spotlight. Available mostly in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, Verizon Fios offers top speeds, price guarantees, and a high quality service for a fair, transparent price. (Verizon also has a great 5G Home Internet service, which we reviewed as well.)
“No complaints about the service so far,” says Darren Hansen, a Verizon Fios customer in Brooklyn, New York. “Haven’t had to interact with customer service—everything has been smooth since we started with Fios a bit over a year ago.”
Verizon Fios plans are more reliable than cable providers like Spectrum or Optimum, but unfortunately, you may have better luck signing up for a cable provider because Fios’ availability is limited. Read on to learn more about how Verizon Fios fares on speed, price, and overall customer experience.
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Looking for Verizon Fios? Enter your zip code and check if it’s available.
Get to know Verizon Fios: Plans and pricing
*
Price per month with Auto Pay & without select 5G mobile plans.Consumer data usage is subject to the usage restrictions set forth in Verizon's terms of service; visit: https://www.verizon.com/support/customer-agreement/ for more information about 5G Home and LTE Home Internet or https://www.verizon.com/about/terms-conditions/verizon-customer-agreement for Fios internet.
†
Price per month with Auto Pay & without select 5G mobile plans. Consumer data usage is subject to the usage restrictions set forth in Verizon's terms of service; visit: https://www.verizon.com/support/customer-agreement/ for more information about 5G Home and LTE Home Internet or https://www.verizon.com/about/terms-conditions/verizon-customer-agreement for Fios internet.
Verizon Fios is Verizon’s fiber home internet service. Fiber is the most reliable connection type available, and it works by transporting light across a fiber-optic cable. It’s well-known for its fast upload and download speeds that make all aspects of an internet service smoother and faster—including binge-watching TV shows, having unbroken video calls, and quick uploads of content.
All Verizon Fios plans come with unlimited data and speeds range from 300Mbps up to 2Gbps. Depending on the speed, plans cost $49.99 to $109.99 per month and come with a price guarantee for two to four years, which means your monthly fee stays the same rate. After this period ends, you may be subject to an increase in your monthly fee. If you are on an existing postpaid Verizon Mobile plan, you also get a discount on the internet portion of your Verizon plan by $15 to $25 per month.
There is also the Verizon Forward plan, a discounted internet plan available for households that are enrolled in federal assistance programs. The Verizon Forward plan allows you to get Fios internet plans for as low as $20 per month.
Which Verizon Fios plan is right for you?
Verizon’s Fios 300 plan at $50 per month (with AutoPay) is perfect for most households. It’s fast enough to support streaming, gaming, and video calls in a household of five or six people without overpaying for extra speed you don’t need.
For heavy data users or those with media-intensive tasks, Verizon’s $75 per month Fios 500 Mbps plan offers an extra 200Mbps download speed to handle more devices and provide better performance for 4K streaming, large file uploads, and online gaming for over six people. Ideal for larger households or those needing to manage several high-demand activities at once.
Verizon Fios fees for modem and installation
Wi-Fi 6E router
Free rental
Professional installation
$99.00
Deposit based on credit check
$0.00—$250.00
Auto Pay and paper-free billing discount
$10.00/mo. discount
Whole-Home Wi-Fi for the 300Mbps or 500Mbps plan
$10.00/mo.
Whole-Home Wi-Fi for the 1Gbps or 2Gbps plans
Free
Early termination fee
None
Data as of 07/16/2024
What makes this review legit?
Our fact-based research process centers on interviews with internet customers across the country, helping us understand how internet services hold up against diverse needs and challenges.
To put together this review, we interviewed three Verizon Fios customers and chatted with a dozen other customers on Reddit to get firsthand accounts of how the provider performs under various Wi-Fi conditions and whether it delivers a satisfactory customer experience. We also looked over all the details of Verizon Fios’ pricing and speed offerings, checked data from our speed test, compared notes on public surveys and customer satisfaction reports, and contacted customer service to gauge how easy it is to get technical support and answer customer questions.
Our breakdown of Verizon Fios Internet features
For all our internet reviews, we give a rating based on three main criteria—speed and reliability, dollar value, and customer experience—which we then average to make an overall score.
Want to know how Verizon Fios stacks up? See our full take below.
Overall score: 4.1/5
Speed and reliability
4.75/5
You’re in good hands with Verizon Fios. The fiber-to-the-home provider is one of Reviews.org’s top five fastest internet providers, which we calculated from a year’s worth of data from customers who ran our speed test.
Fiber internet is especially great for tasks that require uploading content, downloading data-intensive games, or staying on a call. This is thanks to the fast upload and download speeds it offers. Upload speeds are usually quite slow on cable, 5G, and DSL internet, so signing up for a fiber connection through Verizon Fios gives you a boost that you otherwise can't get.
Verizon Fios customers get reliable, fast speeds for streaming shows, working from home, playing multiplayer games online or hosting a 24-hour livestream. Speeds start at 300Mbps and go all the way up to 2Gbps, offering enough bandwidth whether you’re renting an apartment solo or living in a huge house with numerous roommates and 10 or more Wi-Fi devices.
Dollar value
3.75/5
Despite the initial snags of an installation fee and a security deposit, it’s great to see that Verizon Fios has a good range of plans with reasonable prices. It would be worth signing up for the provider, especially since the price guarantee assures you get low monthly fees for two to four years. Considering that many internet providers raise their rates after a year, this is a special perk.
Most customers need to pay for a professional installation, which costs $99. This can sometimes be waived for an exclusive offer on the 1 Gig plan. For some customers, there is an option for self-installation, depending on if the previous tenant at your address had Verizon Fios and Verizon determines there isn’t a need for any additional jacks or professional wiring expertise.
All customers also need to pay a security deposit at the time of the order. This could either be free or cost up to $250, depending on your credit history. Verizon holds your deposit for one year (or six months for Virginia residents). If you pay on time 10 out of 12 months, your deposit will be returned to you (five out of six months for Virginia residents).
Verizon’s Fios plans start at $49.99 a month and come with unlimited data and a free router rental. After the price guarantee period ends, prices increase to the standard rate at the time, which is currently just $10 more than the introductory price (although that may eventually change).
Verizon also caters to customers who previously used the Affordable Connectivity Program with Verizon Forward, a discount plan that offers high-speed internet to eligible customers enrolled in Federal Assistance programs, starting at $20 per month. There is also currently a promo where the plan is free for the first six months.
Customer experience
3.75/5
Verizon on a whole (including Fios fiber and 5G home internet) gets high ratings for its internet plans, with 95% of customers who took HighSpeedInternet.com’s Customer Satisfaction Survey saying they’re satisfied with Verizon. “I’ve never had to call them for an issue,” says Thomas H., who has been a customer for the past seven years in various locations. “From reliability to performance, it’s everything you can expect,” he says.
In the 2024 American Consumer Satisfaction Index, Verizon Fios scored 77 points, one point higher than the Fiber Internet Service Provider benchmark. This means that customers report slightly higher customer satisfaction with Verizon Fios over most mainstream fiber internet service providers, including Google Fiber.
How long it took to get a real human on the phone: I spent about a minute going through an autoresponder phone tree before I could connect to a live agent. One time, the automated response let me know that I would be waiting for an hour before getting connected, but it only took another couple of minutes. Verizon has a callback service if you don’t want to spend too much time listening to hold music.
How the chat service is: You need to share your address and answer a few questions about your internet usage. The agent is helpful, but they do try to initiate a sale.
Overall quality
4.1/5
You get a great deal with Verizon Fios. The fiber provider gets top ratings across multiple customer surveys, and it has a great reputation for its reliability, speeds, and infrequent outages. Some customers may find that connection isn’t strong enough in every part of the home, so getting whole-home Wi-Fi could be a game changer.
“I did have to install a Wi-Fi extender to get consistent connection in the bedroom,” says Reddit user CapriciousSon on a Reviews.org Reddit post. “I think the walls also have something to do with it as they are very heavy and it's a prewar building.”
Verizon Fios: What deals and promotions can you get?
Verizon offers tons of add-on services through the myHome portal, allowing you to add discounted streaming, Live TV, and smart home plans alongside internet.
With Verizon's Mobile + Home Discount, existing Verizon mobile subscribers can get $15 to $25 off their monthly internet upon signing up for a Fios or 5G Home Internet plan. This gives you a great discount on internet service, but you need to already be a mobile customer—you can’t sign up for both mobile and internet at the same time and get the discount. You could sign up for mobile first and then for internet, but Verizon’s phone plans are actually quite expensive, starting at $65 per month for unlimited talk, text, and data.
Sign up for Verizon Fios and add streaming services like Netflix & Max for $10/mo. Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ for $10/mo.
Verizon Fios add-ons and perks
Get the Verizon Forward plan for $0 for 6 months.
Sign up for the Forward plan (must meet eligibility requirements). After 6 mos., pay $20.00/mo.
Get up to $500 credit to cover your early termination fee when you switch from another internet provider to Verizon.
Order Fios home internet and see the Fios Early Termination Fee instructions (request must be submitted within 90 days).
Get Whole-Home Wi-Fi for free.
Sign up for the 1Gbps or 2Gbps Fios plan.
Get a $50 Verizon gift card.
Sign up for the 300Mbps or 500Mbps Fios plan.
What do customers think of Verizon Fios?
Verizon Fios customers who talked to Reviews.org give glowing reviews for the fiber provider, although they say Verizon customer service isn’t the best.
Darren Hansen, a Fios customer in Brooklyn, New York, is satisfied with how he actually gets the speeds he is paying for. “Recently I’ve been streaming games using the Xbox Game Pass game streaming service, and it works great on an Ethernet connection from the router,” he told Reviews.org. “When downloading games, I’ve seen almost 500Mbps speeds, which I was impressed by.” Previously, Hansen was on a Spectrum plan, and was dissatisfied with the lower than expected speeds.
Laviet Joaquin, current Marketing Head at TP-Link and a Fios customer for the past five years, is also happy with her experience. “I regularly enjoy superfast speeds, which are essential for my personal and work activities,” she says. If the opportunity arose to switch providers, she wouldn’t take it. “I would remain loyal to Verizon Fios. Its dependability and swiftness are unmatched and essential for my professional and everyday tasks.”
“When downloading games, I’ve seen almost 500Mbps speeds which I was impressed by.” –Darren Hansen, a Verizon Fios customer in Brooklyn, New York.
Thomas H., a Verizon Fios customer in New York City, is also happy with his 500Mbps business internet plan for his home-based IT consulting firm. “I’ve never had an outage. Not once,” he says. Thomas needs solid internet speeds and connectivity to support backups of virtual machines in his work—a process that requires a large internet bandwidth.
Verizon Fios customer service
While the service may be reliable, one customer on Reddit, lets_try_civility, finds interacting with customer service to be frustrating. “What makes [Verizon Fios] good is that the service is more reliable than anyone else, so I don't need to call as much. But when I do, whoa boy. It's a disaster,” they tell Reviews.org.
“When I do [call customer service], whoa boy. It's a disaster.” – Verizon Fios customer in Brooklyn, New York.
A couple of years ago, they attempted to go through the process of keeping their internet service since they were moving to a place nearby that was also serviceable. However, Verizon Fios wouldn’t let them keep their account and they lost all their account and communication history with the provider. “It's been two years since that moving incident, and the service is reliable and it just works—I'll take it.”
Need to contact Verizon Fios customer service or tech support?
- Hit up the chat line for customer support.
- Send a message to technical support.
- Call customer service at +1-800-225-5499.
- Download the My Verizon app on the Apple App Store or Google Play
- to get support and find deals.
Where is Verizon Fios available?
Verizon Fios is available across the East Coast, bringing fiber to neighborhoods in Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington D.C. See if it’s in your neighborhood by searching your zip code below.
Enter your zip code and see if Verizon Fios is available where you live.
Verizon Fios vs. the competition
Verizon Fios gets you a way better deal than what you can get from its three major competitors, cable providers Xfinity, Spectrum, and Optimum.
You can't go wrong with cable internet most of the time—Spectrum and Xfinity both get solid ratings in our reviews. But fiber is still the better option. One Verizon customer told us in a Reddit thread that despite some misgivings about Verizon’s customer service, they still made a point to move to a neighborhood where they’d be able to continue getting Verizon Fios service. “I'd eat glass before going to Optimum or Spectrum,” they say.
You can get a budget-friendly plan with T-Mobile 5G Home Internet, which is popular for its simple fixed prices and easy setup. It’s not going to give you consistent speeds in the same way that Verizon Fios does, but if you’re not using the internet to work from home or game heavily, T-Mobile is a decent option.
Compare internet providers and prices
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No term contract. Taxes not included. Includes $10/mo automatic payments and paperless billing discount. Prices may vary by location.
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Limited time offer; subject to change; new residential customers only (no Spectrum services within past 30 days) and in good standing with Spectrum. Taxes and fees extra in select states. SPECTRUM INTERNET: Standard rates apply after promo period. Additional charge for installation. Speeds based on wired connection. Actual speeds (including wireless) vary and are not guaranteed. Services subject to all applicable service terms and conditions, subject to change. Not available in all areas. Restrictions apply.
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w/ Auto Pay & Paperless Bill. Wired connection. WiFi speeds may vary. Not available in all areas. Terms apply.
**
w/ Auto Pay. Regulatory fees included in monthly price for qualified accounts. See full terms.
FAQs
Yes, HighSpeedInternet.com's Customer Satisfaction Survey reports that over 90% of Verizon customers are satisfied with their service. Reviews.org even spoke to Thomas H., a Verizon user for seven years, who confirmed Fios delivered on its reliability and performance expectations.
Verizon Fios is known for its fast internet, making the top five in Reviews.org's list of the fastest providers. Fios offers download speeds from 300 Mbps all the way up to 2,300 Mbps, so you won't have a problem finding the right speed for you.
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